Hello everyone,welcome to my second review article on this site and first review for 2017.Let’s jump straight into it with the technical aspect of the line.Here’s information from the official Spiderwire site.

Fluoropolymer treated microfibers – shoots through guides like a bullet!

Whisper quiet for “Stealth Attacks”

Resists “diggin in” on reels

“SpiderWire Stealth® Glow-Vis Braid™ is made from Dyneema®, The World’s Strongest Fiber! Each size is uniquely colored with special colorants that reflect ultra-violet rays above water for high line visibility, but will not reflect below water to provide the low visibility green that fish are less likely to visually detect. Braid constructed to provide the ultimate strength with the thinnest diameter for smooth and quiet performance. The no stretch properties of Dyneema PE fibers provides incredible sensitivity to instantly detect bites and structure.”

275m spool

Here’s my take on some of the technical aspects. [Based on my experience with the 30lb spool]Fluorescent brightener– out of the pack,the line may seem like a dull green colour but put it into the sun and it will look a bit better.This really enhances the visibility on the water especially when I do heavy cover fishing in areas packed with hydrilla.Seeing my line move a bit is a good indicator when a fish takes my lure on bites that I do not feel.

Color-Lock coating technology– the colour retains.I abuse my line well especially when going for snakeheads.Any piece of structure that’s in the water will probably have my line rubbing against it.And for people that have fished with me,they will know I like to cast hard and just whack it.This will either result in a good long cast or a baaaad backlash – and damaged line.So far I have had minimal backlash (my fault) and the line hasn’t been damaged.The colour retains throughout long periods of use.At the moment I have my Revo Rocket’s spool filled with 30lb Spiderwire Stealth Glow Vis braid which has been on there for roughly 2 months,and it looks as good as new.Fluoropolymer treated microfibers –Spiderwire says it shoots through guides like a bullet..yes sir,it does.My favourite line for bombing baits far out.The coating seems to make it go out smoothly,even with 30lb line I can make a good cast with a weightless 3.8” swimbait.

Whisper quiet for “Stealth Attacks” – this is right too.I think the coating has something to do with it.You won’t get that rough feel you get from fishing with regular braid,though it is not as good as you can get with mono or fluoro but for braid,it is impressive.

Resists “diggin in” on reels – I have lost many lures due to line digging in (Not Spiderwire).At one time I lost roughly $400 worth of lures when 3 or 4 of my lures snapped off in a row due to line digging in.This is one thing I fear,but it hasn’t happened with the Glow Vis Braid on my spool.Even on a hard cast with a backlash the line doesn’t dig in.When I pull a snag it doesn’t dig in too bad as well.

Now,time to talk about my time with it on the water.The first time I fished with it was during an Abu Garcia luring competition back in May 2016.Out of the pack,it feels smooth and round.Before travelling,I had a new setup and I had a spool of 30lb Spiderwire Stealth Glow Vis braid to put on my Abu Garcia Revo Rocket paired with the 10-20lb Abu Garcia Veracity Pro.The competition was held at Sepayang Dam,Rompin.A notorious heavy cover and power game location in Malaysia.It is a place I fear,but I eventually fell in love with it.The evening before the competition I went boating with the Purefishing family at the dam.Here’s a little info on how the dam is like.It is packed with standing timber,logs,screwpine islands and a ton of weeds.98% of the time will be spent on fishing in thick weeds with frogs and other stuff that Giant Snakeheads will attack.The rule for locations like this is to have a locked drag,as Giant Snakeheads will strip line and head for structure at any given chance.Even with a locked drag.Once I was on the water,I literally forgot about my setup.In my mind,I had to stop any fish I hooked and so I forgot about over working my setup..my plan was to pump anything I had with no mercy..and that was what I did.On my first hooked Giant Snakehead,it stripped line as my drag was at 90%.Within 6 seconds flat,it was in a snag and I lost it.My lure came back without a fish.My leader and mainline scraped against all the structure in the area,but both held up well.On my second fish,it managed to stop my heart for a bit as it ran slightly to the right,rubbing my Glow Vis braid on structure once again.I pumped it back with no mercy and I managed to turn its head and pumped it straight to the boat.This was a decent sized fish above 1kg and the line held up.On both the first and second fish I was tortured when I heard the line scraping against structure.The structure wasn’t covered in any moss which probably could reduce the friction.Later on I hooked into my 3rd fish which was pumped back with a locked drag.Its last attempt to dive beside the boat into structure and weeds was rather successful as my line was tested once again but I managed to pump it back up just in time to be netted.That was my first experience with the Glow Vis braid,and the line is nothing short of bad ass.I’ve used it for a few months chasing all kinds of species and it has proven its capabilities very well particularly for heavy cover snakehead fishing.This line stands up to Spiderwire’s tag line “Nothing Gets Away”.For the performance and price,it is a line worth having for some hardcore usage.After the evening boating sesh I cut off a few meters just to be safe before the competition.On the next day,I continued using it and endured a bad backlash while casting with my buddy Isaac when I made a mistake during a hard cast.The line was fine and ready to be back in action after clearing the backlash.

The usual problem with braid is fraying.After a while using it in some places that would usually damage line,it sustained little damage (minimal fraying which is not obvious) but I think the strength wasn’t compromised as I managed to pull lures off snags with opened hooks.The sensitivity is great as well.Even with 30lb test I had no trouble picking up bites and putting in solid hooksets.

Summary on the Spiderwire Stealth Glow Vis Braid
For the value it is a line worth having.It casts very smoothly,has incredible strength,sensitivity and it is durable for hardcore usage.You can rely on it to go after that dream catch.

Thank you for reading,tight lines!

-The line I fished with is the 30lb Spiderwire Stealth Glow Vis braid.For the Malaysian/South East Asian market it comes in the 114meter(Rm60)/275 meter spool (Rm100+).

-Thank you Purefishing Malaysia for the opportunity to fish with such an amazing product.

-For feedback on how I can improve and other questions,please drop a comment below or e-mail me at swimbaitfreakfishing@gmail.com

Spiderwire Stealth Glow Vis Braid – ready for some serious work!

So happy to catch fish of this size.

Solid 600grams plus snakehead,pulled out of cover and above a snag which it got stuck in.Impressive power

Nice long cast,and fish is on!

Heavy cover snakehead..whacked it out from behind a piece of wood

Smooth line that allowed casting lighter lures

Lost this one,but I surely pumped it hard before it eventually made it to structure.

Back in 2015 I received a package from Lightspeed Lures.The package contained a bearing pack –Hedgehog Studio ZR Kattobi Bearings.I planned to replace the bearings on my Abu Garcia Silvermax II with these high performance bearings to see how they would perform.Along 2015 I had a great time fishing with the bearings.It’s been a year now – I planned a video review a long while ago but I lost roughly one year of footage when my harddrive failed.Since I have no videos,I will write up on my experience with these high performance bearings.

Stay tuned for updates of this post that might contain videos of the ZR Kattobi Bearings performing.

The Hedgehog Studios ZR Kattobi Bearings costs roughly MYR70 (2015).In my opinion the price is reasonable for the performance and quality obtained.Hedgehog Studio is a leader in performance tuning parts for fishing reels.You can’t go wrong when it comes to Japanese tuning parts.

I always wondered if custom bearings were really worth it.A friend told me that you will get what you pay for.There is a reason people are willing to spend on certain things like custom bearings.One fine day a package arrived in the mail and I was stoked to try it out.With the help of a friend and his spool bearing remover,my Abu Garcia Silvermax II was rigged with the Hedgehog Studios ZR Kattobi bearings.(Side plate bearing & spool bearing)

Mr.Fahmi,the owner of Lightspeed Lures advised me to take my reel out and give it a try.He told me that the bearings have a ‘loading time’ and they might be a bit noisier than stock bearings.After a few casts then the performance can be felt.The bearings come pre-oiled,so all you have to do is to just replace it with the stock bearings in your reel.

On my first session with the bearings,I managed some good birdnests thanks to my under estimation of the bearings’ performance.According to Hedgehog Studios,the ZR Kattobi Bearings will aid in increasing casting distance for lures ranging from 5g-50g.I approve that.I used lures from 5-20+ grams and my casting distance increased.I used less force in my casts and my lures still managed to travel long distances.Making casts was effortless.There was certainly more noise compared to stock bearings,but personally I think that is not much of a problem.

While fishing in tight quarters I only had to flick my rod a bit to send my 5g lure out for a good distance.Birdnests were common in the beginning but it was all down to my skill.In time my control of my reel got better and making sweet casts was a breeze.

Skipping lures and making technical casts were no problem as well.The faster rotation of the bearings aided in making longer skip casts.I also tried out fishing lures below 5g to see how it would affect casting distance.I used lures ranging from 2g-4g with no noticeable decrease in distance compared to stock Silvermax II bearings.I even fished weightless soft plastics with no decrease in casting distance.

Conclusion : The Hedgehog Studio ZR Kattobi Bearings are worth the money.I still remember myself smirking after making some long,sweet casts.Effortless casts and longer casting distances are the key reasons you should look at if you are planning to buy these bearings.At the moment the bearings are not in my Silvermax II anymore,but I am planning to put them back.I miss making sweet roll casts onto weed edges..waiting for a snakehead to come out and bite.The Hedgehog Studios ZR Kattobi Bearing is a great addition if you plan to increase the performance of your reel.Various models are out for different reels.Check out http://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/ for information on different bearings models and sizes to match your reel/reels.Special thanks goes out to Lightspeed Lures for the chance to try out the Hedgehog Studio bearings.My perception towards custom reel parts has changed in a positive way.Thank you for reading & tight lines.